


Till the End of the Line

by WolfMeister



Series: Stucky One-Shots [1]
Category: Black Panther (2018), Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Fluff, Goats, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Post-Black Panther (2018), Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Pre-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Wakanda
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-06-26 13:16:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15663960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolfMeister/pseuds/WolfMeister
Summary: Steve keeps the rings with him everywhere, snug in one of his uniform’s pouches, or a pocket in his jeans, hidden away in a simple wooden box.





	Till the End of the Line

**Author's Note:**

> This was just going to be a marriage proposal fic but that didn't happen

Steve Rogers had been looking forward to this day for years - for _decades,_ he reminds himself - but that doesn’t make him any less anxious. And yes, technically he had already been through this back in the summer of ‘39, but this time it was different. This time, if Bucky agreed, they could really follow through. Steve swore he would ask Bucky again, after he found him and if he remembered, if he still felt what he did back then. So, he had been preparing for this moment since Bucky went back into cryosleep in Wakanda. He would have sooner, but there was always so much going on. As soon as Bucky was back under, and Steve had left the beautiful lab of Wakanda, he started preparing.

It started with a question. “Thank you for all of this,” Steve says to T’Challa once they arrive at the palace. The king nods and smiles.

“Of course, Captain,” he replies. “Though I assume you have some questions?” Steve lightly chuckles.

“Yeah,” he admits. “How long do you think it will take? For the trigger words to be removed?”

“I am not sure. But I know my sister will be working diligently on it. I am certain it will take less than a year. Perhaps only a couple of months.” Steve nods in understanding. Then he shifts slightly, nervously on his feet.

“Do you know where I can get a pair of rings?”

Steve was immensely grateful for all that T’Challa ended up doing for them. He was also grateful when he didn’t question why Steve wanted rings. Of course, he ended up having to wait for the said rings to be made, despite how simple they were in design, they were still a custom order, and there was a waitlist. And the metalsmith, a kind man by the name of Ayabonga, had to request Shuri for Bucky’s ring size. Shuri got the request when Steve was on a mission with Sam and Natasha, but she immediately brought it up the next time Steve visited the Wakandan lab.

“Ayabonga asked for Bucky’s finger measurement,” Shuri states as Steve walks down the lab’s ramp. “Said it was for you,” she adds. Steve notices that the princess doesn’t even look up from her work on Bucky’s mind. She taps the holographic projection a couple more times before turning to look at Steve. She has a knowing smirk on her face. “I better be invited to the wedding.” Steve can’t help but laugh.

“You have to remove the trigger words first,” he says. She shrugs. “And it isn’t like I’m going to ask him immediately. I don’t know if he still…”

“We’ll see.”

Shuri calls him two months later. Her greeting easily transitions to telling him that Ayabonga’s rings are finished. Steve is about to tell her that he’ll be there in a couple of days, but she cuts him off. His heart nearly stops when Shuri tells him that Bucky is awake. She tells him that the trigger words don’t affect him anymore. Steve makes it to Wakanda within a couple of hours. He meets Shuri on an open field by a beautiful glittering lake. He can see children playing by the water’s edge. She doesn’t say a thing to him as he exits from the quinjet, merely points to the hut closest to him. Steve has to stop himself from running.

His heart goes into overdrive when he peeks into the hut. He sees Bucky sitting on the ground, writing, dressed in red with a blue cloth over his left shoulder. His hair is pulled back from his face. And he looks healthy, content even.

“Bucky,” Steve breathes out. Bucky looks up at him with his steel blue eyes. He smiles and stands, putting his notebook to the side. Steve can’t help but smile back.

“Hey, Steve,” Bucky greets. We walks forward and brushes his fingers against the scruff growing on Steve’s jaw. “Nice beard.” Steve huffs out a laugh, leaning his cheek into Bucky’s touch.

“I missed you.” Bucky pulls Steve closer with his arm, embracing him. Steve brings his arms around Bucky’s torso. He never wants to let go.

“I missed you too, Stevie.”

They stay like that for quite some time. And if either of them cried that day, well that’s nobody’s business.

Steve quickly learns that although Bucky remembers more, he doesn’t remember everything. Steve visits Bucky in Wakanda every week or so, and when he isn’t with him, they Skype each other. Steve keeps the rings with him everywhere, snug in one of his uniform’s pouches, or a pocket in his jeans, hidden away in a simple wooden box. But Bucky doesn’t remember for a while. Steve thinks the goats might have triggered the memory. Steve wouldn’t have been able to guess that Bucky would adopt goats, especially as many as he did, but Steve can see that they make him happy, and he would ask for nothing else. He can’t help falling a little bit more in love with him each time they speak.

It happens nearly a year after the Accords. Steve arrives in Wakanda to find Bucky bathing in the lake, a pile of his clothes resting out of reach of the water. Steve gains the sudden urge to draw Bucky in the lake, glittering with drops of water, the golden Wakandan sun beaming down on him. But he doesn’t have his sketchbook with him, so he settles for sitting by the water and simply observing. Bucky swims up to him after a while, walking out of the lake looking like a divine deity. Steve would know. Bucky slips on a pair of shorts before stretching out beside Steve and basking in the sun.

“Steve,” Bucky says after a while. Steve hums, showing that he’s listening. “Do you not love me anymore?” Steve is taken aback by the question. He’s amazed at how blunt Bucky can be now, after everything. But he’s so glad he remembers.

“Why would you think that?”

“You don’t kiss me.” Steve looks over at Bucky. He’s staring out across the lake.

“I didn’t know that you remembered,” Steve says softly. “I’ve never stopped loving you, Buck.” Bucky’s lips quirk upward in a small, serene smile. Steve leans over as Bucky tilts his head toward him. Their lips connect in a chaste kiss, and for the first time in a long time, Steve feels as though everything is right with the world.

About a month after, Steve figures that today is the day. The one he has waited decades for. Steve wakes up after Bucky, knowing that he went out to take care of the goats as part of his morning routine. Steve rolls over and checks the pocket of the jeans he wore yesterday. He slips the wooden box out of them, opening it and looking at the two golden vibranium rings laying inside. He takes a deep breath before getting dressed. Steve doesn’t find the right time until after lunch when Bucky is leaning against the wooden fence for the goats’ paddock. Steve walks over next to him. They talk, about nothing in particular, before falling into an easy silence. Steve continuously glances over at his everything, and he realizes, despite all his preparing, he never figured out what he was going to say. Not exactly at least. He finally builds up the courage to speak, letting his heart decide what to say.

“James Buchanan Barnes,” he says, voice firm and clear. Bucky looks over at him with a confused turn of his lips.

“Steven Grant Rogers,” he replies, a twinkle of amusement in his eyes. Steve pulls out the wooden box, running his thumb over it repeatedly.

“I love you,” he continues. “And we’ve spent so long waiting.” He gets down on one knee, holding the wooden box in front of him and flipping it open. He hears a hitch in Bucky’s breathing. “Will you marry me?”

“Are you sure?” Bucky responds. Steve feels a pang of sorrow at how unsure Bucky sounds, of himself.

“Till the end of the line.”

“Then hell yes!” Bucky breathes, tears glistening in his eyes and Steve stands and pulls him into a kiss. “But I have a concern.” Steve’s brow furrows in confusion. “How am I supposed to wear the ring?” Steve snorts.

“It’s fitted to your right ring finger,” he says. “But you could also wear it on your dogtags.”

“Technically the dogtags are your’s,” Bucky murmurs. Steve smiles and presses a kiss to the corner of Bucky’s mouth. “And you’ve asked me to marry you before, Rogers.”

Steve hums. “I know, but now we actually _can_ get married. You know, legally.”

“Except we’re criminals.” Bucky shrugs.

“Not here in Wakanda.” Steve laughs. “And Shuri invited herself to our wedding. A few months ago.”

“Why did she know we were getting married before I did?”

**Author's Note:**

> The rings are just gold vibranium, simple bands, but with "till the end of the line" carved into them. If anyone was wondering


End file.
